Fall
by Crayola Hearts
Summary: It was like the mirage of youth had disappeared before her eyes. Suddenly she wasn't a child chasing bugs in the back yard. She wasn't the leader of the Red Tails, ruling Ishiyama as 'Queen Kunieda'. (Christmas Angel Rewrite!)


_**Author's Note: **_I want to extend a huge thank you to Devilry who helped me greatly with this.

With that said, I hope this turns out much better than Christmas Angel.

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_**Fall**_

_Part 1: Shīhōsu Island _

Chapter 1

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Aoi Kunieda.

She was a hero among the girls of Ishiyama – a beautiful young woman who could sway the hearts of many, but just as fearsome as any man before her. She was like a diamond among the dust. She carried herself with an air and grace fit for royalty, fully living up to her given title as 'Queen of Ishiyama'. A master of the sword and a brave fighter, she was nigh approachable by any man who sought to court her.

But in these days, her gig as the feared Queen was fading. On the outside, one could conclude that her delinquent ways had vanished. She had cast aside her title as Leader of the region's strongest female gang, the _Red Tails_, and had situated herself in the life of a normal high school student. Perhaps it was the change of schools that had brought this on. Or maybe it was the fact that responsibility for her class had been thrown onto her shoulders. Whatever the case, with each passing day, she seemed as if she belonged more to St. Ishiyama than the notorious delinquent school she hailed from.

She trained in martial arts, something that required much more discipline than the average hooligan possessed. Many wondered why she still bothered with the ill tempered and idiotic derelicts of her class. There was only one feasible explanation they could conjure; it was the relationships she had developed among them. Despite giving up her role as leader of the _Red Tails_, she was still on good terms with several of the members who hadn't abandoned their ways.

The biggest reason of all could have been the simple-minded imbecile with a child on his back, Oga Tatsumi. Her infatuation with him was no secret among the delinquent class, or other students in the school for that matter. The question surrounding the subject was not 'does she like him', but 'why does she like him'?

He wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer. Where everyone else had picked up on the glaringly obvious clues, it was likely that the thought hadn't so much as crossed his mind. It was as if all of his head were filled with nothing but fighting and _Rice Boy_. He wasn't hard on the eyes, many discovered, once one was able to look past the endless violence he paraded in, or the devilish glint in his eyes. He wasn't all that cruel either. Though he relished in the feeling of burying someone three feet into concrete, Oga still had a soft and protective side; one the Queen had seen first hand.

Her reasons, however, were never voiced. No matter how much someone pried her lips remained sealed, as if it were a secret she would never utter.

Maybe she wasn't too entirely sure herself.

She was pulled from her thoughts as the classroom door was flung open. Saotome strode in, a large stack of papers in his right hand. "I just got done talking with the Principle," he stated, "it seems that there's another field trip. Fortunately, there are only two classes going and you're one of them."

"Another field trip?" Furuichi asked, "um, Saotome-sensei, when is it?"

"We're leaving tomorrow, so get your parents to sign these packets and hand them to me in the morning. Now listen here you shits, if you don't get them signed, you're not coming. If you try to sneak on, I'll kill you."

"And the expenses are?" Himekawa asked, glancing up from his phone.

"Paid in full. All you brats need to do is bring your shit and the permission slip."

"Paid in full?" Kunieda asked, "who paid for us?"

"The man who owns the five star resort we're going to is an old friend of mine." Saotome smiled, "You could say we're his honored guests."

"So this is basically a free trip to some fancy resort?" Kanzaki asked as he leaned back in his seat. His feet where propped on the desk and his arms were crossed over his chest.

The teacher nodded. "That's about right. There's a few rules though, so listen up you shits. I won't repeat myself. There's absolutely NO fighting unless I say other wise. Not with other schools, not amongst yourselves. We can't have the resort being reduced to a pile of rubble," he glanced at Oga. "This isn't just vacation to a fancy-schmancy resort. We'll be doing some training while there, so if you want to get stronger, I suggest you get your shitty asses to the dock bright and early tomorrow morning. Take one of these as you leave."

The bell signaling the release of class rang. They packed up their stuff, which wasn't much considering few of them did anything constructive in class, and took a packet as they exited the room.

"I can't believe it!" Hanazawa exclaimed happily as she leafed through the pages. "We're going to be in some fancy resort for two weeks! This is crazy cool!"

"Oi, Oi Paa-ko. Stop yelling," Kanzaki grumbled.

"But it's so cool! Two weeks of snowboarding and stuff!" exclaimed Hanazawa.

The delinquent sighed, "more like two weeks of sitting inside and doing nothing. I hate the cold."

She gave him and look and turned to the redhead beside her, "what's his problem?"

Nene simply shrugged. "Aoi nee-san. We can't walk home with you today. There's a general meeting tonight and we're having it at Chiaki's place."

"It's fine. I had a couple things to do before I went home anyway." She smiled at the Fourth leader before turning down an adjacent hallway.

"Alright, see you tomorrow."

"By Aoi nee-san!"

Kuineda looked over her shoulder and waved.

The sky outside had darkened considerably. A loud rumble of thunder shook the building as the Queen muttered a curse. Why hadn't she thought to bring an umbrella? She exited the school and stood under the shelter of an overhang, contemplating if she should just walk home or wait until it let up..

"Yo, Kunieda."

Her face burned a cherry red as the voice washed over her.

"O-Oga! I thought you would have left already."

He scoffed, "I had to stand behind while Furuichi scared off another one. Idiot."

"Da boo!" Beel added, looking a bit peeved.

"Where's he now," she inquired.

Oga shrugged, "ran off with tears in his eyes, muttering something."

She chucked nervously in response. Kunieda saw him almost every day and she _still_ couldn't force herself to have a normal conversation around him. Shyly, she let her gaze fall in his direction. He was leaning against the door frame, his arms crossed over his chest. A black umbrella protruded from his back pocket.. "Tch, if he's not out here in five minutes, I'm leaving him."

_He's in a bad mood, isn't he, _she thought, noticing the vicious scowl twisting his face.

"Anyway, what are you still doing here? I thought you usually went home with the _Red Tails_."

"Uh...well, they had a meeting today. I was going to walk home alone, but it's raining and I don't have an umbrella…"

A silence settled over them, filled only by the _pitter-patter_ as the rail fell onto the concrete pathways of St. Ishiyama's courtyard.

"Alight, I'm done waiting," Oga grumbled as he pushed himself away from the door. "Come on, Kunieda."

"Wha?"

He looked at her as if his intentions were glaringly obvious. _Oh the irony, _she thought.

"I'm walking you home," he stated.

_H-he's walking me h-home?! _Her face burned a darker shade. "I-It's fine. It looks l-like it's going to let up s-soon!"

"Like hell it is! It's fuckin' pouring!" He replied

_What am I doing?! He's offering to walk me home! Why am I refusing?!_ "A-Alright."

He opened the umbrella and she stepped under it, careful not to get too close to him, but not so far away that she wasn't under the umbrella. Unfortunately, that wasn't an option. It was a small umbrella, obviously meant for one person with absolutely no wiggle room. As they walked, she was constantly aware of the fact that her shoulder would brush against his arm every so often.

The rain had let up by the time they reached the temple.

"Thank you," she said as she quickened her pace.

The last thing she wanted was for Oga and her grandfather to get into another fight. She didn't even want her grandfather to _speak_. Each time he opened his mouth in the delinquent's present, he spouted about seeing if he was 'good enough'. The conversation, though Oga remained completely oblivious, (a fact she was rather thankful for) was embarrassing.

She was half way up the steps when her grandfather's voice reached her ears.

"You're late!" He hollered.

_Damn it._

"Sorry Grandpa! It was raining a-"

"What is this punk doing here," his eyes narrowed on Oga.

"I walked her home, old fart."

The elderly man seemed taken aback by this, "what?"

Kunieda quickly stepped in, "It was raining and I didn't have an umbrella so Oga walked me home. Isn't it time for dinner? Go inside and wash up. I'll cook tonight!"

He was about to say something, but the Queen quickly ushered him towards the door, "thank you again, Oga!"

"Wha-"

"Go wash up!" She ordered.

He glanced back at his granddaughter with a bewildered expression before strolling to his bedroom. Kunieda sighed, d_isaster averted._ Pushing back the sleeves of her jacket, she stepped into the kitchen and began digging through cabinets and drawers.

Soon the smell of delicious food filled the temple as the Kunieda household seated themselves at the table. They helped themselves silently. The only sounds to be heard were the clinking of utensils against beautifully painted ceramic bowls.

"Aoi, you need to start thinking about your future."

The statement caught her off guard. The young woman looked up from her rice bowl, a questioning look obscuring her pretty features. "What?"

"Your future, you delinquent girl", her grandfather repeated. "You'll be eighteen next year and in your last year of high school. Not a university will accept you if they see that you've come from that good-for-nothing hoodlum school!"

Kunieda held great pride in her school, just as all the others had, but to voice an objection to her grandfather's degrading statement would be a waste of breath. It would accomplish nothing but the start of an argument she had no hope of winning.

"Starting next semester, I want your to put in a transfer request for St. Ishiyama. It's time you grew up and put your delinquent tendencies aside! Further your education and attend University!"

"How would I pay for fees? Unlike Ishiyama, St. Ishiyama is not a 'free to attend' public school! The fees alone would bankrupt us!" She exclaimed, hopping it was a feasible reason for him to reconsider. Much to her dismay, his face only hardened. "Get a job."

_H-he's serious about this, _she thought glumly. "Um, Grandfather, why are you bringing up this subject all of the sudden?"

"Because of your mother," he replied. "I don't want to see you become like your mother, or Nazuna for that matter."

"What was wrong with Mom and Nazuna?" The young woman asked.

"Your mother was one of those good-for-nothing hoodlums! It wasn't until she had you that she finally came to her senses! As for Nazuna, what isn't wrong with that woman?- living alone on an island with talking dolls. Is that what you want your future to hold? It's worse than being a lonely old cat lady!"

A sigh escaped her lips. She had known this conversation would come up eventually, but she never suspected to rear its ugly head so soon. Though he had never spoken the words aloud until that moment, Kunieda knew that her Grandfather was not too fond of her mother. She couldn't help but wonder what had caused him to loosen his tongue.

"And while we're on the subject," he continued nonchalantly, sipping at his tea, "what do you plan on doing about that boy? Will you tell him or not?"

She nearly dropped her chopsticks. His words echoed through her mind in varying degrees of dynamics. A cherry blush suffused her cheeks. "G-Grandfather!"

The elderly man shook his head at her antics, "You're so much like your father…honestly, Aoi. You need to make your decision soon, enough of this skipping around the bush!"

_What? Does that mean Grandfather approves of him?!_

She chose to answer him with silence. The truth was, she didn't know.

_What do you want, Aoi? _

The Queen wasn't sure what she wanted.

The question bounced about in the confides of her mind. However, a better question yet would have been, _what do you need?_

Did she really need him at this moment, or was it simply a puerile daydream that had been blown too far out of proportion?

"Clean the table when you're done eating and head to bed." Her grandfather ordered and excused himself from the table.

She stared down at the bowl of rice. _One grain of rice may tip the scale. A single choice may be the difference between success and failure. _

The words filled her mind. Albeit modified from its original form to fit her situation, it held relevance.

She finished the last of her rice and stood.

_Enough of this, you're only worrying yourself over nothing. _

With that thought in mind, she cleaned the dishes sitting in the sink and set to putting them in their cupboards. She glanced at the clock above the stove; the bright green letters seemed to glare back at her. It was nine thirty.

_It's Kōta's bed time. _

She found the toddler sitting on the floor in the living room, a mess of brightly colored building block lain out before him. A half constructed house stood before him as he added the pieces one by one. "Come on, Kōta. Pick up your mess and off to bed."

He looked up at her with pleading eyes, as if begging for more time to work on his creation. She, however, wouldn't allow it; she shook her head and pointed at the pile of unused pieces. A dejected look crossed his tiny face, but he did as he was told.

It had taken some time, but the mess was cleaned. The child yawned and rubbed his eyes sleepily as his elder sister lifted him off the ground and cradled him in her slim arms. He nestled against her, allowing his lids to fall. Before she had even reached his room, he was in a deep slumber, a small smile curling his lips as he dreamed of whatever it was that filled the tot's head.

How simple it was to be a child.

She entered his room and laid him down on his bed. He curled into a ball as she pulled the covers over him and planted a kiss on his forehead. Meaningless mutters escaped his lips, but as soon as they came, they were gone and he had fallen into silence once more. With a small smile, Kunieda left the room, closing the paper door behind her.

The air inside the temple felt hot and stuffy. Almost tangible, it was suffocating. A bead of sweat trailed down the back of her neck and though her shirt. The sensation caused her to shiver.

_Maybe Grandfather turned up the temperature. _She thought, searching her wrists for a hair tie.

She shoved back the paper door that divided her room from the rest of the temple. It was a complete mess with clothes scattered about and other useless items littering the hardwood floor. The only thing that seemed to be in its proper place were the swords that hung from a metal rack on her back wall. There were four of them total, all but one sheathed. The unsheathed weapon seemed to gleam with great pride from it's place at the top of the rack.

It was a present from her parents and the first sword she had been given.

Above her bed was a cluster of glossy photos that depicted her and her closest friends in various manners from a group picture of the _Red Tails_, to silly and goofy pictures of just her and her successor, Nene. The rest of her room was covered in various posters of her favorite bands and artists. Along the left side wall was an old mural of an unbelievably large Koi fish leaping from the sea to kiss the sun. It had been drawn and painted by her mother when long before Aoi was born, and the years were not kind to it. The colors had faded and the paint peeled in places.

_Maybe I should recolor it. It can't be too hard if I follow the lines, could it?_ She thought as she gazed upon it.

She remembered how it had looked when she was younger. It was a beautiful picture full of vibrant colors and it seemed as if the fish were really leaping from the floor of her room. Her only fear was that if something were to happen, her mother's beautiful mural would be ruined.

_Then again, it may be best to leave it alone._

Kunieda turned away from the masterpiece and began digging through the mountains of junk, searching for her night clothes. She retrieved a pair of white sweatpants that had been draped over a chair and a baby blue tank top from the desk that held her laptop. She undressed quickly, discarding her clothes among the rest. A yawn escaped her lips as she redressed. With one last glance at her room, she climbed under the thick comforter and switched off the lamp beside her.

A comforting darkness settled around her as she leaned against the feather stuffed pillow. Her lids fell over her eyes as her breathing slowed and sleep cradled her in its soft embrace.

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**Author's Note: **

Shīhōsu: Seahorse


End file.
